Large-tailed Nightjar Caprimulgus macrurus on the Maroochy River of Queensland's Sunshine Coast: a Probable Recent Expansion of Range

摘要

Observations of Large-tailed Nightjar Caprimulgus macrurus made during 2012 and 2013 in estuarine wetland habitats of the Maroochy River of southeast Queensland apparently represent the first records of the species from the Sunshine Coast and indicate that the lower Maroochy River area supports a resident, breeding population. This locality is more than 60 km south of the previously published coastal limit of distribution of the Large-tailed Nightjar. Although constituting only a minor extension to the species' known distribution, these records are nevertheless significant because they strongly suggest this population is a newly established one. Climate change offers a plausible explanation for the bird's southward range expansion into previously unoccupied areas. With ongoing climatic warming predicted, the Large-tailed Nightjar may be expected to continue expanding its Queensland distribution southwards.